How to unlock Allied Races so you can enjoy all of their new customizations in patch 9.1.5

Unlocking Allied Races can be a lot of effort — particularly if you didn’t actively play during the expansion in which they were released. But maybe you really want to be a much taller Troll or an even shinier Draenei or So, or a Kul Tiran because frankly you dig the aesthetic of a chonky Human. We’ve all been there and I can’t blame you, because they’re awesome. And some Allied Races have gotten even more appealing because they’re getting new cosmetic options in patch 9.1.5.

Though unlocking these Allied Races still takes some work, it isn’t as hard as it used to be — and it’s getting even easier in patch 9.1.5.

So if you want to know how much effort you need to put in to play a Gnome with metal replacement limbs and a never say die attitude, we’re here to help. Here’s what you need to know about unlocking Allied Races in Shadowlands.

How to unlock Allied Races

Unlocking an Allied Race tends to follow the same format. Three current Allied Races — the Kul Tirans, Mechagnomes, and Dark Iron Dwarves — will be easier to unlock in patch 9.1.5 as you won’t need to run the dungeons that are currently part of the process of unlocking them. But in every case, you will need to complete an lengthy meta-achievement to unlock each specific Allied Race, which we’ll cover below. You’ll also need to meet the level requirement — level 45 for the four Legion Allied Races, and level 50 for the six Battle for Azeroth races.

Some of these achievements are faction neutral, but you still need to have a character of the appropriate level and the appropriate faction to fully unlock them. For example, you can unlock Mechagnomes if you’ve completed The Mechagonian threat on a Horde character, but you still need a level 50+ Alliance character to complete the final unlock quest. Faction neutral unlocks include:

• Void Elves
• Lightforged Draenei
• Mechagnomes
• Nightborne
• Highmountain Tauren
• Vulpera

But some achievements are faction specific, requiring you to do quests and achievements specific to your faction. These unlocks include:

• Dark Iron Dwarves (Alliance)
• Kul Tirans (Alliance)
• Zandalari Trolls (Horde)
• Mag’har Orcs (Horde)

Alliance Allied Races

Both the Horde and the Alliance have five Allied Races for a total of ten. Four of these Allied Races were introduced at the end of Legion, while the remaining six came with Battle for Azeroth. Let’s start by running down the Alliance races:

• Void Elves are the survivors of an accident that changed them from Blood Elves to a new kind of Elf that can tap into the mysterious powers of the Void. Rejected by the Sin’Dorei, they have accepted the offer of Alleria Windrunner and joined the Alliance. You will need to complete the Argus campaign achievement You Are Now Prepared to unlock them.
  • Required level: 45
  • Required achievement: You Are Now Prepared
• Lightforged Draenei are the cousins of the Draenei. They traveled aboard the Genedar with Xe’ra, fighting the Burning Legion. Changed by the Light, they now serve the Alliance as strangers on the strange world of Azeroth. You will need to complete the Argus campaign achievement You Are Now Prepared to unlock them. Like the Void Elves, you must be level 45.
  • Required level: 45
  • Required achievement: You Are Now Prepared
• Dark Iron Dwarves are the clan that tried once to take over Ironforge and lost, fleeing to what is now Blackrock Depths after they were enslaved by Ragnaros. Free from the Firelord’s grip and ruled by Moira Thaurissan, widow of Emperor Dagran I and mother of his son and successor, they became part of the Alliance when Moria joined the Council of Three Hammers. You will need to complete the BFA Alliance War Campaign achievement Ready For War to unlock them.
  • Required level: 50
  • Required achievement: Ready For War
• Kul Tirans are the people of the island kingdom of Kul Tiras, who have come to rejoin the Alliance with the reign of Lord Admiral Jaina Proudmore. You will need to complete the BFA patch 8.1 War Campaign and earn the achievement A Nation United to gain their favor. If you don’t already have it, you’ll have to earn Ready for War achievement just to start working on unlocking Kul Tirans, so you’ll unlock Dark Iron Dwarves as you progress.
  • Required level: 50
  • Required achievement: A Nation United
• Mechagnomes are, well, pretty much what the name implies: a splinter group of Gnomes who, under the mad King Mechagon, replaced much of their bodies with metal parts. Now that Mechagon has been defeated, Gelbin Mekkatorque has become the king of a united Gnomish people, something that hasn’t been the case for over 400 years. You will need to complete the expansive The Mechagonian Threat achievement to unlock them, which means basically spending time doing their storyline.
  • Required level: 50
  • Required achievement: The Mechagonian Threat

Horde Allied Races

Now let’s look at the Horde Allied Race options:

• Nightborne are the inhabitants of Suramar, a city sealed off for ten thousand years since the original invasion of the Burning Legion and the Sundering of the Well of Eternity. Due to the hostility shown them by the Night Elves, their former people, and the acceptance of the Blood Elves who descended from the Highborne as well, they have joined the Horde. You must complete the Insurrection achievement by completing the Suramar storyline to gain their aid.
  • Required level: 45
  • Required achievement: Insurrection
• The Highmountain Tauren are an offshoot of the Shu’halo who bear the Antlers of Eche’ro, a blessing granted them by the Demigod Cenarius during the War of the Ancients. They joined the Horde due to their relationship with their Tauren relatives. You will need to do the entire Highmountain storyline if you want them to join you, completing Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.
  • Required level: 45
  • Required achievement: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
• Once, the Zandalari Trolls ruled an empire that spanned much of Azeroth. Today, they still hold one of Azeroth’s most powerful navies, and have made common cause with the Horde in no small part due to Horde agents freeing the current monarch from an Alliance prison. Like the Kul Tirans, you’ll need the patch BFA patch 8.1 Horde War Campaign to unlock them, as well as the Zandalar Forever achievement.
  • Required level: 50
  • Required achievement: Zandalar Forever
• The Mag’har Orcs are refugees from the destroyed Draenor we visited during Warlords of Draenor, who escaped from that alternate world just before it ended. Now, they serve the Horde that rescued them. You’ll need to get Ready for War to unlock them.
  • Required level: 50
  • Required achievement: Ready for War
• Vulpera are ridiculously cute fox people who joined the Horde because the Alliance are freaking idiots sometimes. You’ll need a level 50 Horde character and the achievement Secrets in the Sands to get the Vulpera to join you.
  • Required level: 50
  • Required achievement: Secrets in the Sands

And that’s all you need to know. There’s no real way to shortcut these unlocks, you just have to do them — but all of the achievements will go more quickly at level 60. And if you wait for patch 9.1.5 to wrap up your Allied Race collection, the three Alliance Allied Races from Battle for Azeroth won’t require a dungeon run to complete their achievements, making them easier to get.

So if you’re on a Shadowlands max level (level 60) character, all you need to do is go back to Legion or Battle for Azeroth and do some achievements to unlock the Allied Race you haven’t gotten around to yet, just in time to enjoy the new cosmetic options available to these Allied Races.